Good Old-Fashioned Networking and Questions to Ask Interesting People…

Recently I’ve been talking a lot about getting back to the foundations of what makes business GREAT and FUN

With all the online NOISE it’s easy to forget that good old-fashioned networking can make a huge impact on your business especially when you understand that your network makes a HUGE impact on your net -worth… and actively look for ways to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones.

To build your Network/Net-worth You must associate with like-minded positive people who are where you want to be.

Are you active in organizations like, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, and other networking groups in your local community? Regardless of whether or not you’re comfortable meeting new people, you do it anyway.

Be intentional about the people you spend time with. And become the person who inspires those around you. It might make all the difference.

To help you out here’s some of my favourite questions to ask INTERESTING PEOPLE!

Tip: I stick to open-ended questions as often as possible, since they allow the responder to run wild and give better, deeper answers.

How’d you end up doing/being [a professional juggler in the circus]?

Usually asked with excited fascination and a smile. I like starting with this one since it’s an easy opener, it’s fun for people to answer and you have no idea what direction they’ll take. Hopefully it also gets at “Why’d you decide to do it?” – which I’d also cover. It might even turn up a useful strategy for creating some serendipity.

So, what’s it like?

Also meant for them to run with. Hopefully they start to cover what they do and don’t like, and maybe even a wild story or two. Welcome and encourage the crazy stories.

How’s it different than you expected?

Search for both good and bad surprises. As outsiders, we can’t possibly know what it’s really like (and humans tend to over-glamorize others’ stories). This also helps get to the answer of “What do you wish you would have known when you started out or done differently along the way?” – which can also be used here.

What’s been the hardest part?

Sometimes I’ll lead with “What’s been your favourite (or coolest) part?” to help ease into talking about the tough stuff… which is where all the magic is, and which rarely gets publicized.